cultivation Archives - Green Market Report

Editors Note: This is a guest post.

As a cannabis grower, small increases in your profit margins can make a big difference in the success of your business. And if you want to scale your operations, you need to focus on getting the small details squared away.

5 Ways to Increase Profitability

As cannabis becomes destigmatized as a legitimate industry, it’s imperative that growers and retailers become even more focused on cleaning up business processes and optimizing for profitability. Here are some specific ways you can do just that:

• Get to Know Your Numbers

You can’t strategically boost profit margins if you don’t know what your profit margins are to begin with. To find your profit margin, simply subtract your total business expenditures from your total revenue. This provides your net income. Then take your net income and divide it by your total revenue. This leaves you with your profit margin. 

It’s also important to know metrics like how much it takes you to produce an ounce or a gram of marijuana; how much you can sell different products for; which products are most profitable; which products have lower margins; etc.

You don’t need to be a CPA to understand the basic numbers behind your business. Any time you invest in analyzing this side of your company will serve you will over the long run.

• Optimize Floor Space

As expensive as warehouse space is in most parts of the country, it makes sense that you’d want to make better use of your floor space. In fact, optimizing your floor space is one of the smartest things you can do to boost profits. The more you can grow within a limited footprint, the better your numbers will be.

In addition to vertical cultivation strategies, which allow you to make better use of limited space, you should find the correct crop density for each specific strain you’re growing. 

“When you begin to work with tighter plant density, your nutrient requirements are less, you can utilize labor better, you can more easily cycle plants so your harvest can [be continuous],” says Jim Ott, CEO of Precision Cultivation, which focuses on plant genetics. “If you’re making it like a manufacturing [facility], in terms of your workflow, those are ways to bring some efficiencies.”

Ott encourages growers to stop thinking in terms of traditional measurements, like pounds per bulb, and instead focus on more comprehensive formulas and calculations, such as cost per square foot. 

• Automate Where You Can

Anything you can do to reduce labor with automation is going to benefit you in the long run. Labor is by far one of the greatest expenses. Whether it’s hand watering, trimming, moving plants around, or packaging, overreliance on laborers will cost you.

Automate wherever you can. One good option is to use automatic grow light lifters, which make it easier to move lights, increase production, and achieve more consistent and faster harvest rates.

A fertigation system is also useful. It will automatically inject important nutrients into your hydroponic grow, which eliminates the need for manual involvement. Again, major savings.

• Consider Outside Investments

As the saying goes, it takes money to make money. If you’re struggling to scale your operation to the level that’s required to maximize profitability, perhaps you should think about welcoming in an outside investor. 

While there’s still a lot of red tape on cannabis business investments in the United States, restrictions are loosening, and more venture capitalists and investors are looking for ways to get involved. This could be a good way to inject some cash into the business and fund necessary improvements or expansion. 

• Cut Energy Costs

Energy is obviously a significant expense. One strategy is to lower energy use by ensuring all equipment is appropriate to the specific needs of your site. Under- or over-sized equipment can dramatically impact energy efficiency, hurt production, and kill cash flow. Furthermore, you need to know the hours of peak demand so you can minimize energy use during these hours. 

Ready, Set, Grow!

The beauty of our industry is that there are so many different strategies, business models, and avenues for success. But regardless of which paths you choose to pursue, profitability must be one of your primary concerns. And the more you’re able to grow your profitability, the more you’ll be able to scale and expand in ways that are meaningful.

Editors Note: This is a guest post. 

If you grow marijuana for a dispensary or personal use, you should know these tips. This guide lists 7 marijuana growing tips every grower needs to know.

In case you didn’t know, CBD is now legal in 33 states, and medical marijuana in the remaining 17. That means that you can grow your own marijuana and make a living out of it. However, making a killing off the trade isn’t as easy as throwing marijuana seeds on the ground and harvesting liters of CBD oil.

Any serious marijuana grower knows that growing marijuana is incredibly difficult. Growing quality marijuana takes lots of diligence, commitment, and resources.  With the right marijuana growing tips; however, growing your own marijuana will be a piece of cake.

Even the most seasoned marijuana growers sometimes have a hard time getting a good yield. However, here is a couple of invaluable marijuana growing tips for both newbies and experienced growers.

1. Great Genetics Are Everything

You don’t have to be a master marijuana grower to know that your marijuana is only as good as its genetics. The first step to growing some good marijuana is finding an excellent cannabis strain, and there are plenty to choose from. So the million-dollar question is, where do I find quality marijuana strains?

Finding the best weed strains is as simple as searching for them on the internet. You’ll find plenty of seed sellers online who can get you high-quality strains.  You can use the strain finder from Cannaconection to get a great strain.

However, remember to only buy your cannabis from a reputable seller for the best seed. Some swindlers will sell you schwag seeds for the price of a high-quality strain.

If you find a great strain, remember to take proper care of it for the best results.

2. Always Grow Inside

If you want the best weed, then always grow your weed inside and not outside. Not saying that your weed won’t grow outside, but it’s highly unlikely you’ll get the results you want.

Growing inside gives you more control of the climate and the entire growth process.  Inside is also way hygienic than outside, making it perfect for growing marijuana.

Also, you don’t need an entire greenhouse to grow your marijuana indoors. You can use a few grow boxes that measure a few inches, and your results will be just as stunning. Check out these grow boxes from Bloom by Botanicare and see how they work for you.

3. Have Proper Lighting

Growing marijuana indoors requires a lot of care, and one aspect you can’t overlook is the light. Outdoor marijuana plants have the privilege of receiving natural light from the sun. Since you’re growing yours indoors, you’ll have to make up for the absence of natural light.

To have your lighting in order, invest in high-quality lights, ballast, reflectors, and hoods. Always remember to change the bulbs at least twice a year.  Only settle for high-quality bulbs, the second-grade bulbs are just as good as an ordinary light bulb.

4. Have Strict Bedtimes

Most cannabis strains have a short growing cycle of about eight weeks. As such, you need to have them reach their full potential in just two months.

One way of doing so is by having consistent “day” and “night” times. It’s best if they have about twelve hours of darkness and twelve hours of light each day.

Maintain this cycle for the entire two months, and you’ll grow some healthy cannabis. If you use smart lights, you can set them to turn off after twelve hours automatically and turn on again after another twelve hours.

5. Take It Phase-By-Phase

Each phase of the marijuana growing cycle has different requirements. In the first growth stage, the plant requires a lot of nitrogen to grow and bloom. During the last stages of the plant’s life cycle, it requires virtually no nitrogen.

If you give it a lot of nitrogen during the last growing stages, then it may end up with a nasty metallic taste.  As such, you need to be keen on what you feed your plant at each stage of your life cycle.

6. Be Careful With What You Feed Your Plants

Nutrient companies will hurl empty promises at your face, and you’re likely going to take the bait. When what they promise seems a bit unrealistic, then it’s probably not true. So don’t spend your money on expensive nutrients that do nothing for your plant.

Also, be on the lookout for knock off nutrients. They do more harm than good for your plants. You can spot knock-offs by their ridiculously low-price tags as compared to the original.

It’s also a good idea to stick to base element nutrients as opposed to pre-mixed ones. You can buy different base element nutrients and mix them by yourself. That way, you can give your plants exactly what they need.

7. Water Quality Matters… A Lot

All water is not the same because of the quantity and types of dissolved solids in it. These dissolved solids can adversely affect the plant, depending on what they are.  Domestic water is a definite no-no because of the chlorine and fluoride used to treat the water.

These chemicals won’t kill your plants, but you won’t get the best results either. If you really want the best from your plants, then invest in a filtration or reverse osmosis system. Once you do, always remember to change your filters frequently for the best water quality.

It’s Now Upon You to Implement These Marijuana Growing Tips

The quality of your marijuana all rests on the attention and care you give to your plants. With these few marijuana growing tips, you’ll be growing the best marijuana in town.  Remember, it’s completely okay to invest a little money on your marijuana plants.

Most importantly, treat your plants like your babies and nurture them to healthy, blooming adults. While your cannabis plants grow, be sure to check out other informative pieces on the site.